"I went inside and an older guy, around 50, came back out with me, looked in the back seat, and said, 'I think you've got a problem'. A doctor injected. [96] An estimated 15,000 to 25,000 people passed by the silver casket, and the auditorium was filled with 2,750 mourners. His breakthrough moment came in 1949 with the release of Lovesick Blues, an old show tune that Williams parlayed into a chart-topping hit, an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, and international fame. [59] On May 21, he had been admitted to North Louisiana Sanitarium for the treatment of his alcoholism, leaving on May 24. The president of MGM Records told Billboard magazine that the company got only about five requests for pictures of Williams during the weeks before his death, but over 300 afterwards. He returned to perform in KWKH and WBAM shows and in the Louisiana Hayride, for which he toured again. [97], Williams' final single, released in November 1952 while he was still alive, was titled "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive". Advance ticket sales totaled $3,500. Hank Williams - Biography - IMDb [6] The family's first child, Ernest Huble Williams, was born on July 5, 1921; he died two days later. His song "Your Cheatin' Heart" was written and recorded in September 1952, but released in late January 1953 after his death. Most of the material was written by Williams himself, in some cases with the help of Fred Rose and his son Wesley. [43] The book only listed lyrics, since its main purpose was to attract more audiences, though it is also possible that he did not want to pay for transcribing the notes. He sang "Cold, Cold Heart", "Hey Good Lookin''", "Glory Bound Train" and "I Saw the Light" with other cast members, and a duet, "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)" with Anita Carter. Hank Williams Net Worth | Celebrity Net Worth It was all in Hanks heart. [77] The next day, two public ceremonies were held at the New Orleans Civic Auditorium, where 14,000 seats were sold for each. [43] The recordings "Never Again" and "Honky Tonkin'" became successful, and earned Williams the attention of MGM Records. The janitor was accused of theft, but the charges were later dropped when a judge determined that her version of events was true. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. He remained hospitalized for eight years, rendering him mostly absent throughout Williams' childhood. [66] In 1951, "Dear John" became a hit, but it was the flip side, "Cold, Cold Heart", that became one of his most recognized songs. Hank Williams, the 29-year-old King of Country Music, was to have flown to Charleston, West Virginia for a New Year's Eve concert but an ice storm near Nashville kept him away. Jones agreed to Williams's terms. Is Hank Williams Sr single? From The Montgomery Advertiser. He also wrote a number of religious songs under the pseudonym Luke the Drifter. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Jett, whose legal name is Cathy Deupree Adkinson, was raised by Williams' mother for two years until she died. [25] His funeral was said to have been far larger than any ever held for any other citizen of Alabama,[27][21] and the largest event ever held in Montgomery,[28] surpassing Jefferson Davis' inauguration as President of the Confederacy. In 1951, Williams fell during a hunting trip in Tennessee, reactivating his old back pains and causing him to be dependent on alcohol and prescription drugs. At around midnight on New Year's Day, Thursday, January 1, 1953, they crossed the Tennessee state line and arrived in Bristol, Virginia. As a boy, Williams was the musical protg of Rufus Payne, an African American street performer who went by the name Tee-Tot and busked on the streets of Georgiana and Greenville, Alabama. By the end of 1952, Williams had started to suffer heart problems. Carr requested a doctor for Williams, who was feeling the combination of the chloral hydrate and alcohol he consumed on the way from Montgomery. Hank Williams was born Hiram Williams[3] on September 17, 1923,[4] in the rural community of Mount Olive in Butler County, Alabama. [32] During the same year, he participated in a talent show at the Empire Theater. In 1951, Williams hosted a 15-minute show for Mother's Best Flour on WSM radio. [29] Around two tons of flowers were sent. [94] He also wrote that Williams had been severely beaten and kicked in the groin recently (during a fight in a Montgomery bar a few days earlier), and local magistrate Virgil F. Lyons ordered an inquest into Williams' death concerning a welt that was visible on his head. Hank Williams' last ride: Driver recalls lonesome end - ajc One year later, he released a cover of "Lovesick Blues", a huge country hit, which propelled him to stardom on the Grand Ole Opry. That all changed in 1949 with the release of "Lovesick Blues," a throwaway rendition of an old show tune he'd pushed to tape at the end of a recording session. Best Answer. He was unable to read or notate music to any significant degree. Marshall had been previously convicted for forgery, and had been paroled and released from the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in 1951. Elonzo stayed to celebrate his son's birthday in September before he returned to the medical center in Louisiana. His iconic status was amplified by his death at age 29 and by his reputation for hard living and heart-on-the-sleeve vulnerability. [26] His final single released during his lifetime was ironically titled "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive." [52] Rose signed Williams to a six-song contract, and leveraged this deal to sign Williams with Sterling Records. Hank Williams Sr. Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. Lyons recalled how Hank rose from being a shoeshine boy to star of the stage. In ways that must have seemed unimaginable to this poor country boy, Williams' life quickly changed. If Williams had lived, it's not entirely certain that the Nashville music community, so eager to shed its hillbilly roots, would have continued to embrace Williams' music. Under the name of Dr. C. W. Lemon he prescribed Williams with amphetamines, Seconal, chloral hydrate, and morphine, which made his heart problems worse. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. In 2010 the Pulitzer Prize board awarded Williams a special citation for his craftsmanship as a songwriter who expressed universal feelings with poignant simplicity and played a pivotal role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life.. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! His life and career were the subject of I Saw the Light, a 2015 biopic, starring Tom Hiddleston as Williams and Elizabeth Olsen as his first wife, Audrey. However, she was to marry someone else before the . Williams' personal life took a major turn in 1943 when he met Audrey Mae Sheppard, who was the mother of a young daughter and had only recently left a messy marriage. Stamey. Having interviewed Carr, the best that Peter Cooper of The Tennessean could offer was that "somewhere between Mount Hope and Oak Hill", Carr noticed Williams' blanket had fallen off. Williams' version became a huge country hit; the song stayed at number one on the Billboard charts for four consecutive months,[56] and gained Williams a place in the Grand Ole Opry. Instead of performing, Williams died 70 years ago today, on Jan. 1, 1953. Shortly thereafter he became a regular on the newly created Louisiana Hayride radio program based in Shreveport, Louisiana. [138], After Williams' death, Audrey Williams filed a suit in Nashville against MGM Records and Acuff-Rose. medically disqualified from military service, I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You), Grammy for Best Country Vocal Collaboration, "Luke the Drifter and the Secrets of Country | ABCtales", "Cowtown Birthplace of Western Swing - Hank Williams", Escott, Colin, Merritt, George & MacEwen, William 2015, "Show 9 Tennessee Firebird: American country music before and after Elvis. [37], In August 1938, Elonzo Williams was temporarily released from the hospital. Over the next several years he churned out a number of other big hits, including "Cold, Cold Heart," "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Hey Good Lookin'," "Lost Highway," and I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive." Marshall admitted that he had also prescribed chloral hydrate to his recently deceased wife, Faye, as a headache medicine. [54] After a few more moderate hits, in 1949 he released his version of the 1922 Cliff Friend and Irving Mills song "Lovesick Blues",[55] made popular by Rex Griffin. [142], For other people named Hank Williams, see. He was one of the finest young men that we ever knew, Acuff said. There he sang "Hey Good Lookin'", and the next week Como opened the show singing the same song, with apologies to Williams. It could be argued, in fact, that his early death only enhanced his legend. They had a son together, .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Hank Williams Jr., on May 26, 1949. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Carr stopped at a small all-night restaurant and asked Williams if he wanted to eat. [17] From that time on, Lillie assumed responsibility for the family. At this stage Williams began abusing alcohol, a problem that haunted him the rest of his life but that came about partly as a result of his attempts to self-medicate agonizing back pain caused by a congenital spinal disorder. "[44], He worked for the rest of the war for a shipbuilding company in Mobile, Alabama, as well as singing in bars for soldiers. He was very kind, and said Oak Hill General Hospital was six miles on my left," and that would place him in Mount Hope. Hank Williams' Death Car - Montgomery, Alabama - Atlas Obscura [64][65] Some of the compositions were accompanied by a pipe organ. Malinin found hemorrhages in the heart and neck and pronounced the cause of death as "insufficiency of [the] right ventricle of [the] heart." [50], On September 14, 1946, Williams auditioned for Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, but was rejected. The Georgiana . The man in the back seat was singer-songwriter Hank Williams Sr. "I ran in and explained my situation to the two interns who were in the hospital," said Carr, now a 67-year-old Montgomery businessman. During an initial hearing, Marshall insisted that he was a doctor, refusing to answer further statements. [139] On October 22, 1975, a federal judge in Atlanta, Georgia, ruled Horton's marriage to Williams was valid and that half of Williams' future royalties belonged to her.[140]. A. Later that year he received his first recording contract, with Sterling Records; however, it was on the start-up label MGM that he had his first hit, Move It on Over in 1947. She worked in a cannery and served as a night-shift nurse in the local hospital. [9] Dr. P.H. 'The Garden Spot Programs' 1950", "Hank Williams' 'The Garden Spot Programs' Named Best Historical Album at the 2015 Grammy Awards", "Tom Hiddleston played country icon Hank Williams in biopic", "File Action to Untangle Hank Williams Estate", "Mother's Best, Hank's Best: A Conversation With Jett Williams and the Students", "The Year's Top Country & Western Artists/The Year's Top Country & Western Records", "PBS 'Country Music' - Native stories of Hank Williams Sr., Loretta Lynn and Peter La Farge", "Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame", "Country Music by Ken Burns Episode 3 The Hillbilly Shakespeare", Listing of all Hank Williams's songs and alternatives, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hank_Williams&oldid=1142672396, Special Awards and Citation for his pivotal role in transforming country music, This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 19:34. Hank Williams, Sr. was an American singer-songwriter and musician who had a net worth equal to $100 thousand at the time of his death after adjusting for inflation (approximately $10 thousand in 1953) Despite his physical failings, Williams was cleared for more travel. [86] Fitzgerald was interviewed, and he suggested that Lillie Williams operated a brothel at her boarding house in Montgomery. They later had a daughter named Irene. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. Williams eventually started to host a show on KWKH and started touring across western Louisiana and eastern Texas, always returning on Saturdays for the weekly broadcast of the Hayride. [84], A man named Lewis Fitzgerald (born 1943) claimed to be Williams' illegitimate son; he was the son of Marie McNeil, Williams' cousin. One famous person of Williams, Jr.'s . The Pulitzer Prize jury awarded him a posthumous special citation in 2010 for his "craftsmanship as a songwriter who expressed universal feelings with poignant simplicity and played a pivotal role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life". [33], As part of an investigation of illicit drug traffic conducted by the Oklahoma legislature, representative Robert Cunningham seized Marshall's files. [60] Williams released seven hit songs after "Lovesick Blues", including "Wedding Bells",[55] "Mind Your Own Business", "You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)", and "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It". James Ellis Garner later played fiddle for him. [93] Dr. Ivan Malinin performed the autopsy at the Tyree Funeral House. No, Hank Williams Sr is not single. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. The couple were married in 1944 at a Texaco Station in Andalusia, Alabama, by a justice of the peace. The album included unreleased songs. [45] Sheppard later told Williams that she wanted to move to Montgomery with him and start a band together and help him regain his radio show. How Did Hank Williams Really Die? - Country Rebel His funeral took place on January 4 at the Montgomery Auditorium, with his casket placed on the flower-covered stage. [131] In 1993, a double-disc set of recordings of Williams for the Health & Happiness Show was released. [109] When Downbeat magazine took a poll the year after Williams' death, he was voted the most popular country and Western performer of all timeahead of such giants as Jimmie Rodgers, Roy Acuff, Red Foley, and Ernest Tubb.[110]. "Fan It" and "Alexander's Ragtime Band", recorded by Williams at age 15; the homemade recordings of him singing "Freight Train Blues", "New San Antonio Rose", "St. Louis Blues" and "Greenback Dollar" at age 18; and a recording for the 1951 March of Dimes. His mother subsequently demanded that the school board terminate the coach; when they refused, the family moved to Montgomery, Alabama. Hank Williams was just 29-years-old when he died, but had lived quite a life in his short years. [35] His recent win at the Empire Theater and the street performances caught the attention of WSFA producers who occasionally invited him to perform on air. On New Year's Day in 1953 the heart of country music was broken; the Shakespeare of Country Music died in the backseat of a powder blue Cadillac in Oak Hill, West Virginia on his way to a booking in Canton, Ohio. Payne,[1] along with Roy Acuff and Ernest Tubb,[2] had a major influence on Williams' later musical style. His body was initially transported to Montgomery and placed in a silver coffin shown at his mother's boarding house. Tributes to Williams took place the day after his death. [69] On November 14, 1951, Williams flew to New York with his steel guitar player Don Helms where he appeared on television for the first time on The Perry Como Show. [105] Williams had 11 number one country hits in his career ("Lovesick Blues", "Long Gone Lonesome Blues", "Why Don't You Love Me", "Moanin' the Blues", "Cold, Cold Heart", "Hey, Good Lookin'", "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)", "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive", "Kaw-Liga", "Your Cheatin' Heart", and "Take These Chains from My Heart"), as well as many other top 10 hits. His son, Hank Williams, Jr., a successful country performer in his own right (like Williamss grandson, Hank Williams III), sang Williamss songs in the film biography Your Cheatin Heart (1964). If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. [68] In October, Williams recorded a demo, "There's a Tear in My Beer" for a friend, "Big Bill Lister", who recorded it in the studio. [16] Lillie Williams began booking show dates, negotiating prices and driving them to some of their shows. By the early 1940s, he'd caught the attention of music executives in Nashville. Williams had an agreement giving his first wife half of the royalties, but allegedly there was no clarification that the deal was valid after his death. Hank Williams - Wikipedia YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Fearful that disc jockeys and jukebox operators would hesitate to accept these unusual recordings, Williams used this alias to avoid hurting the marketability of his name. Lillie Stone, Audrey Williams, and Hank Williams, Jr., seated on a bed while looking through letters and cards received after the death of Hank Williams, Sr. How old was hank Williams jr when hank Williams sr died - Answers [73] That same year, Williams had a brief extramarital affair with dancer Bobbie Jett, with whom he fathered a daughter, Jett Williams. Jones declared "I have never accepted the report that my husband died of a heart attack. While he was medically disqualified from military service after suffering a back injury caused by falling from a bull during a rodeo in Texas, his band members were all drafted to serve. An immensely talented songwriter and an impassioned vocalist, he also experienced great crossover success in the popular music market. In 1947, he released "Move It on Over", which became a hit, and also joined the Louisiana Hayride radio program. His father worked as a logger before entering the Veterans Administration hospital when young Hank was just six. "[25] An estimated 15,000 to 25,000 people passed by the silver coffin, and the auditorium was filled with 2,750 mourners. She cried out, Hes gone gone over and over as firefighters helped her out. In late 1951, he suffered a minor heart attack while visiting his sister in Florida. A quick study, Williams learned how to play folk, country and, thanks to an African-American street musician named Rufus Payne, the blues. Keillor, Garrison. Hank Williams died on New Year's Day 1953, Montgomery funeral drew While living in Georgiana, Williams met Rufus "Tee-Tot" Payne, a street performer. Because a corpse was involved, Stamey called in radio officer Howard Janney. He won the first prize of $15, singing his first original song "WPA Blues". [46], In 1945, when he was back in Montgomery, Williams started to perform again for the WSFA radio station. [3] In October 1952, he married Billie Jean Jones. Carr was 17, a freshman on break from Auburn. Williams, who was recently separated from WSM "for failure to make appearances," was a resident of Montgomery, Ala. As a youth he sold peanuts and shined shoes, meanwhile strumming on a. [74], In June 1952, he recorded "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)", "Window Shopping", "Settin' the Woods on Fire", and "I'll Never Get out of this World Alive". The 27-year-old was driving the car, which was. [35] On March 12, 1953, Billie Jean Jones appeared before the Oklahoma committee. Carr and Williams checked out of the hotel at around 10:45p.m. Hotel porters had to carry Williams to his vehicle, an Olympic Blue 1952 Cadillac Series 62 convertible, as he was coughing and hiccupping. The suit demanded that both of the publishing companies continue to pay her half of the royalties from Hank Williams' records. (An audio recording of the funeral begins at the 7:30 mark of the video below. He also requested a doctor for Williams, as Williams was feeling the combination of the chloral hydrate and alcohol he had drunk on the way from Montgomery to Knoxville. Less than 48 hours later, Hank Williams was dead. Williams said he did not, and those are thought to be his last words. "Your Cheatin' Heart" was written and recorded in 1952 but released in 1953 after Williams's death. Malinin also found that, apparently unrelated to his death, Williams had also been severely kicked in the groin during a fight in a Montgomery bar a few days earlier[14] in which he had also injured his left arm, which had been subsequently bandaged. [19] Carr's account of how he discovered that Williams was dead outside Oak Hill is challenged by Dr. Leo Killorn, a Canadian intern at Beckley hospital, West Virginia, fifteen miles from Oak Hill, who claims that Carr drove up to the hospital and asked him to see Williams. A friend of the family denied his claims, but singer Billy Walker remembered that Williams mentioned to him the presence of men in the house being led upstairs. Hank Williams - Tragic Country Star - Biography [97] His funeral was said to have been far larger than any ever held for any other citizen of Alabama, and the largest event ever held in Montgomery. [5] He met Horace Raphol "Toby" Marshall in Oklahoma City, who claimed to be a doctor. [75], On August 11, 1952, Williams was dismissed from the Grand Ole Opry for habitual drunkenness and missing shows. Probably taught his first chords by Payne, Williams began playing the guitar at age 8. Jett was then legally adopted. Many artists have covered his songs and he has influenced Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, George Jones, George Strait, Charley Pride, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones, among others. Hank Williams Research Papers - 1475 Words | Internet Public Library Their son, Randall Hank Williams (now known as Hank Williams Jr.), was born on May 26, 1949. When he played on his guitar, he played on the heart-strings of millions, pastor Henry Lyons of Highland Avenue Baptist Church told the crowd gathered on Perry Street. Carr talked to Williams for the last time when they stopped at a restaurant in Bristol, Virginia. Police found empty beer cans and unfinished song lyrics in the Cadillac where Williams died. Since Williams' parents were both followers of Freemasonry,[7] Williams was named after Hiram I. He denied any responsibility in both deaths. [42] He continued to show up for his radio show intoxicated, so in August 1942 the WSFA radio station fired him for "habitual drunkenness". While he was medically disqualified from military service after suffering a back injury caused by falling from a bull during a rodeo in Texas, his band members were all drafted to serve. [80] In June 1952, Williams moved in with his mother, even as he released numerous hit songs such as "Half as Much" in April, "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" in July, "You Win Again" in September, and "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" in November. Hank Williams Sr. Age, Height, Weight, Birthday - AgeCalculator.Me During World War II Williams commuted between Mobile, where he worked in a shipyard, and Montgomery, where he pursued a musical career. "I think he had a profound sadness in him," says Marc Abraham, writer and director of I Saw The Light. In 2011, Williams' 1949 MGM number one hit, "Lovesick Blues", was inducted into the Recording Academy Grammy Hall of Fame. Here are more vintage images and stories of Alabamas past. They moved to a new house on the other side of town on Rose Street, which Williams' mother soon turned into another boarding house. Instead of performing, Williams died 70 years ago today, on Jan. 1, 1953. In February 2005, the Tennessee Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling stating that Williams' heirsson, Hank Williams Jr, and daughter, Jett Williamshave the sole rights to sell his recordings made for a Nashville radio station in 1951. In April 1948, he scored a second Billboard success with "Honky Tonkin.'". Around this time Williams released more hit songs, such as "My Son Calls Another Man Daddy", "They'll Never Take Her Love from Me", "Why Should We Try Anymore", "Nobody's Lonesome for Me", "Long Gone Lonesome Blues", "Why Don't You Love Me", "Moanin' the Blues", and "I Just Don't Like This Kind of Living". Carr drove through the night as Williams declined his offer to stop for food. Williams was scheduled to perform at the Municipal Auditorium in Charleston, West Virginia. Williams began his music career in Montgomery in 1937, when producers at local radio station WSFA hired him to perform and host a 15-minute program. The Untold Truth Of Hank Williams Jr. - NickiSwift.com After recording "Never Again" and "Honky Tonkin'" with Sterling Records, he signed a contract with MGM Records. Ernest Tubbs began the funeral with Beyond the Sunset and Red Foley and The Statesman Quartet sang Peace In The Valley.. His official cause of death was listed as heart failure, but there are many who say otherwise. [125][126] In July 2020, his granddaughter Katherine (Hank Jr.'s daughter) died in a car crash at the age of 27. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. His substance abuse problems continued to spiral out of control as he moved to Nashville and officially divorced Sheppard. [28] His musical style contained influences from Payne along with several other country influences, among them Jimmie Rodgers, Moon Mullican, and Roy Acuff. Country music legends June Carter and Bill Monroe were among those who filed past his open casket as Hanks band, The Drifting Cowboys, backed up those singing tributes to the fallen star. [92] In Williams' Cadillac, the police found some empty beer cans and unfinished handwritten lyrics. Hank Williams Sr. was 29 Years, 3 Months, 15 Days old. Representative Cunningham presented the committee a telegram from Marshall's seized files, directed to the estate of Hank Williams for $736.39, and stated that the committee was evaluating the revocation of Marshall's parole. He died in the back seat of his Cadillac while being driven to a gig on New Year's Day 1953. The result of the original autopsy indicated that Williams died of a heart attack. [31], In July 1937, the Williams and McNeils opened a boarding house on South Perry Street in downtown Montgomery. The day after Williams died, The Montgomery Advertiser recalled Williams as a former peanut vendor who learned to play guitar at age 6. [77], During his last recording session on September 23, 1952, Williams recorded "Kaw-Liga", along with "Your Cheatin' Heart", "Take These Chains from My Heart", and "I Could Never be Ashamed of You". [100] "Take These Chains From My Heart" was released in April 1953 and reached No. The Opry eventually fired him, and in 1952, he and Sheppard divorced. He purchased the DSC title for $25 from the Chicago School of Applied Science; in the diploma, he requested that the DSc be spelled out as "Doctor of Science and Psychology". Before it was over, some 20,000 people had filled the auditorium and the street outside for what was described as the largest funeral in Montgomerys history. [37] On March 21, Robert Travis of the State Crime Bureau determined that Marshall's handwriting corresponded to that of Dr. Cecil W. Lemmon on six prescriptions written for Williams. . His son, Hank Jr., was ranked on the same list. [103][104] Alabama governor Gordon Persons officially proclaimed September 21 "Hank Williams Day". . In 1977, a national organization of CB truck drivers voted "Your Cheatin' Heart" as their favorite record of all time. He was unresponsive and rigor mortis had already begun to set in. It included 10 songs: "Mother Is Gone", "Won't You Please Come Back", "My Darling Baby Girl" (with Audrey Sheppard), "Grandad's Musket", "I Just Wish I Could Forget", "Let's Turn Back the Years", "Honkey-Tonkey", "I Loved No One But You", "A Tramp on the Street", and "You'll Love Me Again". Father and son rarely saw each other over the next decade, with Williams' mother, who ran rooming houses, moving the family to Greenville and later Montgomery, Alabama. [18], In the fall of 1934, the Williams family moved to Greenville, Alabama, where Lillie opened a boarding house next to the Butler County courthouse. "[34], On March 10, Marshall was called again to testify. Advertisement. His stardom put money in his pocket and gave him the kind of creative freedom artists long for. His hair began falling out, and he put on 30 extra pounds. The investigating officer in Oak Hill declared later that Carr told him that he had pulled over at the Skyline Drive-In restaurant outside Oak Hill, and found Williams dead. [71] On December 13, 1951, he had a spinal fusion at the Vanderbilt University Hospital, being released on December 24.